The Cuban Missile Crisis
Pgs. 363-364
John F. Kennedy
• John F. Kennedy (JFK)
became President in
1961. He was 43 –
making him the youngest
person ever elected to
the office.
• He was very popular with
young people.
• At his inauguration, he
inspired Americans to
work for their country.
John F. Kennedy
• “Ask not what your country can do
for you; ask what you can do for
your country.”
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• The Players:
– President John F. Kennedy – United States
– Premier Nikita Khrushchev – Russian Leader
– Fidel Castro – Cuban Leader
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• The Cuban Missile Crisis was the closest
the world ever came to nuclear war.
• The United States armed forces were at
their highest state of readiness ever and
Soviet field commanders in Cuba were
prepared to use battlefield nuclear
weapons to defend the island if it was
invaded.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• In October 1962, Kennedy learned that the
Soviet Union had build several launch
sites for missiles in Cuba.
• Fidel Castro, leader of Cuba (1959),
cooperated with the Soviet Union, formed
a communist government, and allowed the
Soviets to build missile launch sites.
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• Worried that the Soviets would attack the
U.S., Kennedy set up a blockade of the
island nation.
• He ordered the U.S. Navy to stop Soviet
ships carrying missiles to Cuba.
• What would happen if the ships refused to
stop?
• Would there be a war?
The Cuban Missile Crisis
• Americans were tense fearing the results of an
attack.
• American built fallout shelters (bomb shelters)
for protection.
• They stocked their shelters with flashlights,
radios, first-aid kits, canned foods, and water.
• Schools taught school children to get under their
desks in case of a missile attack.
The Results
• After long negotiations, the Soviet Union
agreed to stop sending missiles to Cuba
and to remove all the missiles that were
already there.
• The United States agreed to end the naval
blockade.
The Arms Race
• Both the U.S. and the Soviet Union believed that
having the most and strongest weapons would
keep them safe.
• This started an arms race between the two
superpowers.
• The U.S. built the hydrogen bomb which was a
thousand times more powerful than the atomic
bomb.
• Both countries had missiles that could carry
bombs to targets half-way around the world.